Can you jig it? 3D printing inside Volkswagen Autoeuropa

Automotive 3D printing technology stories often deal with lightweighting of parts with complex structures that require months of perfecting. We often overlook how the rough and ready world of desktop 3D printing is now reliable enough to fit into the day-to-day assembly of some of the world’s most recognisable vehicles. Daniel O’Connor takes a look at the world of 3D printed jigs and fixtures inside Volkswagen Autoeuropa - winner of the first TCT Automotive Application Award.

"Embrace the mundane", industry expert Todd Grimm told the TCT Show audience back in 2015. He urged the gathered massed to go forth with the cost and time-saving benefits 3D printing offered for tooling, jigs and fixtures and apply them throughout industry.

Judging by the number of tooling case studies we get here at TCT Towers, many have heeded Todd's words.

But '3D Printed Tooling, Jigs and Fixtures,' could be seen in the depths of the 'Trough of Disillusionment' on Gartner's 3D Printing Hype Cycle for 2017. The yearly market research also claimed that this application for3D printing was some 5 to 10 years from mainstream adoption.

Two of the most mainstream brands in their respective industries, Ultimaker and Volkswagen Autoeuropa, have shown that, in this instance, Gartner's analysis is wrong. You don't get much more mainstream than sub £4,000 3D printers being used on a daily basis in the assembly of over 100,000 vehicles a year.

VW is the world’s second largest automobile manufacturer, and now, thanks to a forward thinking plant management team, a significant chunk of its vehicles benefit significantly from 3D printed tooling, jigs and fixtures. The parts manufactured on machines that some might dismissively describe as 'hobbyist', are expected to save VW up to €250,000 a year.

Manufacturing aids can now be 3D printed overnight and tested the next morning, which speeds up the development process considerably.

The particular plant responsible for the innovations was, in 1995, the largest foreign investment ever made in Portugal. VW Autoeuropa is in charge of the assembly of three of the German manufacturer's range; the Scirocco, the Sharan and the Alhambra - manufactured for its SEAT subsidiary.

"The plant decided to invest in this technology in 2014 with one 3D printer," Luis Pascoa, Pilot Plant Manager told TCT Magazine. "After checking the potential of this technology, the reliability and the ease of use, we decided Ultimaker printers were the best choice for us. Within two months we have a return on investment for all our printers."

VW Autoeuropa's team now uses a total of seven Ultimaker systems to make more than 1,000 parts per year, all designed to save time and money on the production line. So efficient is the process that the 3D printed tools are considered best practice across the entire VW Group.

The Fixture List

Amongst the thousands of parts that VW Autoeuropa develops, the most effective have been the simplest of prints like the liftgate badge gauge. This jig ensures that the model badging on the rear of the vehicle is consistent across the board. Assembly line workers, place the jig in a Japanese Poke-Yoke style and voila! A perfectly placed Sharan here and Scirocco there.

Previously VW Autoeuropa sourced all its tooling, jigs and fixtures externally. A part like the liftgate badge took 35 days to develop, costing up to €400. Using the Ultimakers the parts, which have proved just as reliable if not more so, are completed in four days at the expense of a mere €10.

"Now our gauges are much simpler and have adjustment capacities that were not present from the (external) supplier," said Miguel Jose, a Process Engineer at the plant. "When one element gets damaged, previously, we had to scrap the complete part; currently (with 3D printing) we replace only the fragile parts."

With a cost saving of 98% and a time saving of 89%, 3D printing is a no brainer for use on an assembly line. Another part benefitting from a 3D printed overhaul is the wheel protection jig. Designed, printed and fitted to surround the wheel nut cavities, it allows the assembler to quickly guide and tighten the bolts using familiar heavy duty tools, without scuffing the wheel.

VW Autoeuropa wheel protection jig

The wheel protection jig used to cost up to €800 per part; the desktop 3D printed one? Just €21, a 97% saving. And the time is down to just ten days from a whopping 56 days when supplied externally.

Thanks to an open material platform the team at VW Autoeuropa is able to experiment with different materials to add flexibility and stiffness where needed. Another beauty of desktop 3D printing is the small footprint; it allows the teams to iterate directly on the shop floor.

"Our people are continuously focusing on innovation, results and optimisation of our internal processes," said Plant Manger, Luis Pascoa. "This technology allows us to have more effective cooperation between our collaborators on development and assembly process optimisation, all with active participation in the brainstorming exercises. They know that the new jig or fixture will help the exact moment that they use it and improve quality and ergonomics.”

VW Autoeuropa is a company embracing the mundane, and if it continues to generate cost-saving like the €150,000 it achieved in the first year and the €250,000 it anticipates year-on-year, then we can expect many more automotive manufacturers to follow suit.

Have you got an innovative automotive application? Applications for the TCT Awards 2018 are now open to companies across the entire design and manufacturing technology ecosystem. A full list of categories, submission criteria and deadlines can be found here.